Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 17, 1992 TAG: 9203170107
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
The man chosen Monday to succeed him said he wouldn't even try to play the roles that made Iacocca one of the world's best-known businessmen.
"His experience in building this company into what it is and his previous experience at Ford Motor Co. have made him a national figure," said heir apparent Robert Eaton. "I don't aspire to that and never have."
"First of all, I'm a lousy writer," he said. "Lee's Lee and I'm me."
More than just the auto industry's leading spokesman, Iacocca is a media personality whose moves are watched, whose face is familiar to millions, whose from-the-hip musings have rankled political and financial capitals.
He first gained notice as the Ford vice president who introduced the Mustang in 1964. He leaped to national prominence when he talked the government into bailing out Chrysler in 1980.
His 1984 autobiography, "Iacocca," sold more than 6.5 million copies and he led a panel that raised money to restore the Statue of Liberty.
His tough-sounding talk, often laced with profanities, seemed to win over Americans. In a 1985 Gallup poll, Americans rated Iacocca their third most-respected individual, behind then-President Reagan and Pope John Paul II.
"I, for one, am fed up hearing from the Japanese, and I might say some Americans, too, that all our problems in this industry, all of our problems, are our own damn fault," Iacocca said in a typically blunt speech after returning from President Bush's trade mission in January.
Born to Italian immigrant parents in Allentown, Pa., Iacocca earned a master's degree in mechanical engineering from Princeton. He joined Ford's engineering department, but didn't like it and transferred to sales.
In 1970, Iacocca was named company president by Henry Ford II. They didn't get along, and in 1978, Iacocca was fired. Failing Chrysler scooped him up three months later.
Shocked by the company's problems, Iacocca won concessions from the United Auto Workers and $1.2 billion in federally secured government loans. The cash helped Chrysler develop its successful K-cars and buy time to overcome $3.27 billion in losses from 1979-81.
Chrysler turned a profit in 1982. A year later it repaid the government loans, seven years early. "We at Chrysler borrow money the old-fashioned way," Iacocca said. "We pay it back."
His face became recognizable first in congressional hearings on the Chrysler bailout, then in TV ads. In one, Iacocca issued a famous challenge: "If you can find a better car, buy it."
Then came the autobiography, No. 1 for 36 straight weeks, which conferred celebrity status. As he criticized the Reagan administration's widening deficit and trade imbalance, Iacocca was mentioned as a possible Democratic presidential candidate. He said he wasn't interested.
Iacocca has seemed willing to do anything to burnish his image and that of Chrysler. He did a guest spot on TV's "Miami Vice." When Chysler was caught tampering with odometers, he said: "Did we screw up? You bet we did."
Iacocca is so closely identified with his company that it was said the letters in his name stand for I Am Chairman of Chrysler Corp. America.
Since the car market tumbled in the late 1980s, Iacocca has blamed Japan for what he has called unfair trade practices. At the same time, Chrysler has stoked a joint venture with Japan's Mitsubishi Corp., earning him criticism.
Iacocca took a $1 salary during the bailout days. Lately he has been blasted for multimillion-dollar paychecks. In 1990, Iacocca was paid $4.65 million and received another $718,000 in stock. He had announced he would step down at the end of 1992.
by CNB